Eyes Without a Face
by I.C. Weener
Summary: Les yeux sans visage, dudes.


" _There's only so many faces to go around. There's bound to be similarities."_

\- Jason Carter, Viper

* * *

The Fiery Gates had more than a couple faces to go around. It was the archduke of all Idols born from the darkest nightmares imaginable. Its legions of flailing insect arms incited almost as much horror and insanity on its enemies as the tower of moaning demon faces growing grotesquely from its back. Nobody in Rush's forces knew they could wind up becoming this hideous DLC boss's uploaded content.

Several minutes into the back and forth fighting, the Fiery Gates descended into the floor of the aqueducts and completely disappeared. The ground under Rush's feet expanded into a flat void of pale blue light. Insect legs rose up from ethereal space and reached out for anyone who was too slow to escape. Most of the forces retreated to solid ground, but Irina, Khrynia, Emmy, and Sheryl were caught off guard in the middle of the reality-bending madness. Their final moments were spent screaming in panic as they were dragged down into an alternate dimension.

The void closed as Fiery Gates returned to solid form and levitated in the air. The pulsing yellow bulb at the bottom of its malformed body had divided into five separate structures while it was phasing in and out of existence. Functioning as a bacterial culture tank, each illuminated module housed a body of the mortal female variety. Irina, Khrynia, Emmy, Hannah, and Sheryl were suspended motionlessly in tainted mana and had their eyes closed in sleep. Strange pale curse runes resonated on their skin.

The captives were hidden from sight as dense ghostly clouds spread through the water inside their tanks. The Fiery Gates had tried to end the battle decisively by ensnaring all two dozen or so of the opposing troops at once. It managed to nab just shy of a half-dozen.

The fight raged on between the Fiery Gates and Rush's team. The Idol atrocity resumed its attacks by wildly swinging its segmented limbs and spawning hives of smaller explosive arachnid minions. The mortal forces fought back with an organized flurry of weapon strikes and battle spells. The five pickled party members chilled out in their culture tanks for a few turns while they were inflicted with a never ending list of debuffs and status ailments.

The Fiery Gates began to undergo bizarre and foreboding changes. One of the howling faces sitting its back receded into its body, leaving an empty gap that the other faces instantly clustered over and filled. This happened again with a second face a few moments later, then it happened a third time, then a fourth, and then a fifth and final time. The modules housing the five captured bodies would rattle violently and glow ice blue as this happened.

Then one of the culturing modules fell out of its socket. It shattered the instant it hit the arena floor and spilled its fluid everywhere like a giant potion vial. The mist left from the impact subsided and revealed Khrynia in the center of the puddle.

She was standing with her head low so her wide-brimmed hat covered her face. Her body resonated with the same spectral blue-green aura as the Fiery Gates. Her battle outfit had been completely resewn as pale glowing Hell armor. The serrated katana hanging from her right hand was warped and rusted. She chuckled softly in a voice that made an inhuman two-tone echo.

Then she raised her head.

Her face was ghastly and ancient, with only a twisted suggestion of youth and vitality. Her eyes glowed like greedy gold coins. It was as if a demon had cut off its face and forced her to meld it over her own, gaining her physical body in return.

The sounds of shattering glass rose behind her as the four other modules dropped from the Fiery Gates and smashed to the ground. Sheryl, Irina, Hannah, and Emmy stood alongside her with their bodies, equipment, and faces in the same bleak state. The five had been turned into Slandered Idols, the lowest breed of demon in Hell's highest levels of monarchy. The mere sight of them crushed the morale of Rush's remaining forces.

Sheryl pointed her phantom green arm toward her enemies and giggled grimly. Khrynia lifted her corroded knife-katana in both hands. Emmy raised her burning longsword. Hannah licked the end of her curved blade with her long devil tongue to coat it in poison. Irina eagerly held out her cursed scepter.

The five Idolated warriors showed their loyalty to the Fiery Gates by joining the fight against the hopeless foolish mortals.

* * *

 _Author's note: Don't mind me. Just enthralling some thots over here._


End file.
